It was a good two hours out under the stars, ticked off most of the naked eye / binocular targets. Some were not visible yet, but judging by how well the others went then I should have no trouble finding them when they are up at a more reasonable time in December / January.

Next time out I shall try to make a start on the telescope targets.

Hi there. Where did you find the Winter Marathon listing??

It's on the Sky @ Night page at the BBC website.

Look under Related Links for the Moore Winter Marathon pages / downloads.

Did this last year doing the image s this year

Damn and blast! Took the ST80 out to see if I could make a start on the telescope targets, total disaster. The sky was relatively clear when I went out, the seeing was hit and miss but I was willing to stick with it. Halos started to appear around stars, I noticed large cloud banks moving in on all sides, I stuck with it. Then, as I was adjusting the height of the tripod, the plastic bracket split, rendering one leg rather dodgy; but it was OK, the tripod was still steady, so I carried on. I tried for several targets in the list but couldn't see any of them, I think I have to blame this on the poor seeing conditions as even in the ST80 I should have seen something.

Then, as I slewed the scope over to the next target, the tripod leg started to slip, and slipped, and kept on slipping. Slipping seemed to be a general theme for the short-lived session as the whole of the garden was covered in ice, my observing area happens to be on gravel so it was a bit like trying to stand on marbles.

The clouds finally obscured all but the brightest stars, my eyepiece dewed up, I didn't manage to see anything, and the tripod was broken. Time to call it a night.

Tomorrow I will assess the damage, I suspect some epoxy glue and gaffer tape may be the answer.

Roll on clearer skies, less ice under foot, and delivery of my Skywatcher 150P (either tomorrow or the day after) which I will be able to use on my CG-4 Omni mount. Hurrah!